Vinyl

POST-HARDCORE/METAL. With the buzz surrounding THE NUMBER TWELVE LOOKS LIKE YOU at an all-time high, the group went all-or-nothing for their latest release. "worse than alone" was self-produced by the band and mixed by Steve Evetts (Dillinger Escape Plan) and represents the next stage in the band's evolution. "worse than alone" miraculously fuses literally every style of music the band is influenced by, from classical and jazz to screamo, grindcore and death-metal, into one molten morass of auditory carnage.

INDIE/ELEKTRO-POP. The songs are pensive and worry-stained, all minimal, bluntly entrancing riffs, insistent drumming, and tense, reverberant synthesizers. The futuristic propulsion of KRAFTWERK filtered through the raw-knuckled roughness of SUICIDE? Surprisingly, the most disquieting aspect of the songs is their subtle charm. 13 tracks of dazed and charged near-collapse that unexpectedly catch in your mind, echoing their haunted buzz for days and weeks after the record ends. Not since THE SILVER APPLES has a band so successfully wedded a cacophony of electronic keyboards with such a clear-voiced pop sensibility.

POST-ROCK. "apple's acre" is a record full of dysfunctional, hushed love, laced with elegance and grace and without angst and regret. But the plain courage of their songs is the secret ingredient that's already turning heads and blowing minds all over the Northwest and if you think about it, in pop music, courage is always at a premium. Fans of YEASAYER, DEERHOOF, DANIELSON and wild minded pop music should pay close attention.

POST-ROCK. NURSES return with "dracula", the follow-up to their 2009 homemade psych gem "apple's acre". "dracula" is steeped in the strange pop brew that bore "apple's acre", with the band's unmistakable elastic melodies, heady pop hooks and unconventional knack for catchy songwriting that gets under your skin. But where the last release was an insular album, "dracula" is bursting. It's bolder, heavier, with deep grooves, dubby basslines and a focus on rhythm. It's an album with pure physical qualities. Vinyl includes a MP3 download card.

HARDCORE. "new breed" style NYHC has now been entrenched as a stylistic mainstay for hardcore bands longer than the original Lower Eat Side heyday actually lasted. Comprised of personnel from the RIVAL MOB, STEP FORWARD, and plenty more, and backed by the expected, period appropriate production, NYHH debut 7" manages to tap the vein of raw late '80s NYHC without sounding rote or tired 30 years after the fact. Not retro, just timeless.

HARDCORE. Recorded in 1985 this 25 track LP contains all of N.Y.C MAYHEM's studio recordings: 2 demo tapes and their unreleased "for real" that was to appear on Urinal Records. Also includes a 12-page full-color book containing extensive liner notes and many rare/unseen images. This is classic NYC hardcore from N.Y.C MAYHEM who featured Tommy Carroll (STRAIGHT AHEAD) on drums, Craig Setari (STRAIGHT AHEAD/SICK OF IT ALL/YOUTH OF TODAY) on bass and Gordon Ancis (AGNOSTIC FRONT) on guitar. Vinyl includes a 12-page full-color book, containing extensive liner notes and many rare/unseen images. Limited to 500 copies.

INSTRUMENTAL/NOISE-ROCK. NYOS are a noisy instrumental duo (includes Tom, former KHUDA) based in Jyvaskyla, Finland. The bands sound is a loop-driven mixture of all things mathy, heavy and emotive, and after self-publishing both 2014's "vltava" and 2016's follow up, "nature", their 3rd album. "navigation" captures the band moving on from the flowing single-piece format that was found on "vltava" and "nature", towards a more varied, dramatic and dynamic sound. Comes on black vinyl and in a heavy cardboard cover.

INDIE/ELECTRO-POP. NYTEOWL's 1st full-length, "life", follows a string of successful 7"s, including "valentine" that featured heart-pumping electro-soul jams. "life" adds a dark twist to those elastic synth beats - like sounds emitting from a Bladerunner nightclub. Aptly titled, "life", expels a range of emotions that illustrate the rollercoaster ride that life indeed is. It represents the soul-felt journey through ups and downs that everyone goes through while evoking a poignantly dark, digital future. "life" is 9 tracks of spaced-out electronic-pop from. Limited to 300 copies.

POST/AMBIENT-ROCK. "O" isn't just the letter. "O" is the circle symbol and at the same time the name of this 6 piece band from the border region (Belgium/Netherlands/Germany) around Aachen (Germany). In 2010 the members got together with the aim to create spheric musical landscapes. The music wants to take the audience on a turbulent journey somewhere between ambient and post-rock and sometimes you can guess their musical roots found in punk/hardcore. Thick 180gr vinyl comes with a heavy cover and thick printed innersleeve and includes a digital download card.

PUNK-ROCK. Mike Park, original member of SKANKIN PICKLE and founder of Asian Man Records, brings 1 track of his own quirky, punk solo project to this split with O PIONEERS contributing a track of HOT WATER MUSIC and LEATHERFACE-influenced rock.

HARDCORE. Debut 7” from newish Vancouver hardcore band. Evil riffs, raw tone, driving beats and manic vocals. Expressing the stress anxiety and rage of living in an insane world. Stuck in a web of violence and oppression, on the bottom of a hierarchy where capital is the sole representation of power and influence. Seeing the game for what it is and understand that in a dying world you must cheat 2 survive.

DOOM-METAL. Baltimore's premier doom overlords return with a a new full-length that is even more sonically punishing than their last, if you can believe that. Along the same lines as BURNING WITCH and SUNN O))). This limited edition of 666 copies on 210gr vinyl includes a digital download card.

PROGRESSIVE-HARDCORE. Despite only having been a band for a short period of time, Syracuse's OAK & BONE have been turning heads by touring the East-Coast and bringing a heavy, dirty hardcore sound with sludgy influences, crossing the styles of COLISEUM and CURSED with the doom and gloom of UNSANE and 16. Vinyl includes a digital download card with an extra song not on the 7".

POST-METAL/HARDCORE. OAKEN HEART is a four piece from Leipzig, Germany founded in 2011. Located somewhere between blackish riffing, crusting soundwalls and cheerful melodies. Unlike many of their peers, OAKEN HEART play with a hardcore directness, and even their more melodic moments draw more from post-hardcore than pop or shoegaze. It’s not that genre records don’t hold their own power; it’s that an album like "alluvium" can do so much more by crossing and uniting several paths. Vinyl includes a digital download card.

POST-HARDCORE. Recorded in Belgium, mixed and mastered by the folks of Converge, "maelstrom" is a swirling mix of metal, hardcore and punk destruction. Similarities in OATHBREAKER's ferocity to bands like THE CURSED, RISE AND FALL and FROM ASHES RISE are apparent, but merely a flashpoint for them. Without question, OATHBREAKER's "maelstrom" is one of the best debut albums. Vinyl includes a digital download card.